Headline

China Will ‘Not Hesitate To Start War’ Over Taiwan, Beijing Tells US

Published

2 years ago

June 11, 2022

Beijing will “not hesitate to start a war” if Taiwan declares independence, China’s defence minister warned his US counterpart Friday, the latest salvo between the superpowers over the island.

The warning from Wei Fenghe came as he held his first face-to-face meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore.

Beijing views democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to one day seize the island, by force if necessary, and US-China tensions over the issue have soared in recent months.

Wei warned Austin that “if anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost”, defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian quoted the minister as saying during the meeting.

The Chinese minister vowed that Beijing would “smash to smithereens any ‘Taiwan independence’ plot and resolutely uphold the unification of the motherland”, according to the Chinese defence ministry.

He “stressed that Taiwan is China’s Taiwan… Using Taiwan to contain China will never prevail”, the ministry said.

Austin “reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the (Taiwan) Strait, opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo, and called on (China) to refrain from further destabilising actions toward Taiwan”, according to the US Department of Defense.

Tensions over Taiwan have escalated in particular due to increasing Chinese aircraft incursions into the island’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

US President Joe Biden, during a visit to Japan last month, appeared to break decades of US policy when, in response to a question, he said Washington would defend Taiwan militarily if it is attacked by China.

The White House has since insisted its policy of “strategic ambiguity” over whether or not it would intervene has not changed.

Japan PM issues warning

With concerns mounting over China-Taiwan tensions, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida issued a stark warning at the summit: “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow”.

The world must be “prepared for the emergence of an entity that tramples on the peace and security of other countries by force or threat without honouring the rules,” he said.

He did not mention China by name in his address, but repeatedly called for the “rules-based international order” to be upheld.

Austin is the latest senior US official to visit Asia as Washington seeks to shift its foreign policy focus back to the region from the Ukraine war.

As well as on Taiwan, China and the United States have been locked in a range of other disputes.

They have been at loggerheads over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Washington accusing Beijing of providing tacit support for Moscow.

China has called for talks to end the war, but has stopped short of condemning Russia’s actions and has repeatedly criticised American arms donations to Ukraine.

China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea have also stoked tensions with Washington.

Beijing claims almost all of the resource-rich sea, through which trillions of dollars in shipping trade passes annually, with competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Austin arrived in Singapore late Thursday, and held a series of meetings with his counterparts on Friday.

At a meeting with Southeast Asian defence ministers, he spoke about Washington’s “strategy in maintaining an open, inclusive and rules-based regional security environment”, according to a statement from the Singapore government.

His comments were a veiled reference to countering China’s increasing assertiveness in the region.

Austin will deliver a speech at the forum on Saturday, followed by Wei on Sunday. The summit runs from June 10 to 12 and is taking place for the first time since 2019 after twice being postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

AFP

Headline

Meet 17-year-old Nigerian Who Won $3.5m Worth Of Scholarships From Harvard, 13 Other Foreign Universities

Published

10 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Editor

A 17-year-old Nigerian boy, Oluwafemi Ositade, has secured full scholarships to multiple Ivy League universities in the United States, Canada and Qatar.

The teenager, a member of the Class of 2023 of The Ambassadors College, Ota, won scholarships over $3.5 million.

Ositade’s astounding success stems from his exceptional performance in the SAT where he achieved a perfect score in Maths (800/800) and a near-perfect score of 760 out of 800 in reading and writing and his CGPA of 4.04/4.0 from college.

Nigerian boy Femi Ositade wins $3.5 million worth of scholarships from Harvard and 13 foreign universities

Ositade received 14 scholarships from renowned institutions nine of which are full ride scholarships (covering tuition, accommodation, allowance and all other student’s expenses).

The universities that have given scholarship offers to Ositade are Harvard University, Brown University, Duke University, University of Toronto Lester B Pearson Scholarship, Wesleyan University, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, University of Miami, Howard University, Stetson University, Fisk University, University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus, University of Toronto St. George Campus, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus and Drexel University.

In the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), he got a score of 358, and was ranked as the second best in Nigeria for the year 2023.

Also, in the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Ositade got eight A’s and one B2.

He wants to pursue a degree in Computational Physics, due to his passion for Quantum Computing and Mathematics.

Headline

Drama As Women Fight Dirty, Breasts Fall Out During Spring Break Outing In US [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

Published

11 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Editor

Shocking videos captured during Spring Break shows topless women fighting on a popular US beach.

The Orange Crush is a college spring break party on Tybee Island in Savannah, Georgia.

The party has been hosted annually in April for almost 30 years since Savannah State University opened.

This year’s event was chaotic. Videos have been shared on social media showing the carnage unfolding.

One video showed several bikini-clad women fighting on the beach’s boardwalk. They were filmed punching and scratching each other so violently that some of their tops flew off.

During the two-and-half minutes of chaotic footage, several women experienced their tops being forcibly lowered or displaced.

Some stopped fighting momentarily to adjust their clothing, while one individual, clad in a green swimsuit, persisted in the altercation even after her breasts were exposed.

Watch videos from the scene below.

No Peace at Savannah’s Orange Crush as Women Brawl Breakout Over The Weekend At Spring Break Event pic.twitter.com/cmfIZS7KQC
— SHO’NUFF (@IAMSHO_NUFF) April 22, 2024

Headline

Video Of Girl Being Bullied, Slapped At Lead British School Sparks Outrage Online [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

Published

12 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Editor

Videos of female students bullying a lone female student at Lead British School, Abuja, has sparked outrage online.

In videos shared online, female students, dressed in school uniform, are seen slapping one female student identified as Namtira.

“What’s the boy’s name?” they asked as they confronted her and slapped her across both cheeks.

Heartbreaking video shows girl being bullied and slapped by other students at Lead British School (videos)

Another video shows one of the bullies, identified as Maryam, asking, “Who broke my heart?” repeatedly as she slapped Namtira.

She then warned “don’t touch my hand” as Namtira tried to protect herself from the slaps.

Afterwards, Namtira stopped trying to prevent the slaps and calmly took them.

Students in the background are heard claiming Namtira “snatched” someone as they confronted her.

Namtira Bwala, said to be the daughter of author Daniel Bwala, did not retaliate as they hit her.

Heartbreaking video shows girl being bullied and slapped by other students at Lead British School (videos)

The video has sparked outrage and led to the hashtag #JusticeForNamtira.

This video is very triggering and painful to watch.
Apparently the bullied student at Lead British School Abuja is Namtira Bwala not Maryam.#JusticeForNamtira #LeadBritishSchool pic.twitter.com/RD63uTS3kz
— IHUOMA (@officialIhuoma) April 23, 2024